NSID is working on a concept for different voices, to fit your dog. In the future they claim it will be possible to choose between a number of different voices, such as:

HollyHarleyPudgeMandyVincentRoxyDa VinciAbby

And different phrases like:

Holly: This is splendid!

Harley: Leave me alone

Pudge: I am so very weary

Mandy: Who are you?

Vincent: Em, why are you guys leaving?..

Da Vinci: Is that really you?

Roxy: Night-time!

Abby: He must be a very nice animal

At the moment NSID says their No More Woof device speaks only in English, but they have plans for Mandarin, French and Spanish versions later.

The Products

Ever wondered what your dog is REALLY thinking? Soon it may be possible to find out! NSID is working on a new way to uncover the inner wishes of our beloved pets. No More Woof – the new tool to let your dog speak its mind! NSID plans for the introduction of three distinct options, each with their own varied degree of functionality. Previously it was possible to pre-order them at their Indiegogo page, though we suggest you contact Nordic Inventions directly to see about ordering your own: INDIEGOGO!

The NSID NMW MicroA one sensor No More Woof able to distinguish 2 or 3 different thought patterns. According to NSID, these would most likely include Tiredness, Hunger and Curiosity. This is the best option for those that are looking for something reasonably priced to test out the technology for themselves.
The English voice option would be available at this price level.
Price 65 $

The NMW StandardThis is a more robust design than the Micro. This one uses two sensors that help it to be able to distinguish 4 or more different thought patterns, and it should also be able to be calibrated to function better with different dog breeds. You can also flash new software via micro-USB. Far better functionality and more exactness than the Micro Edition.
Price $300

The NMW SuperiorPremium mini-speaker implemented in a golden dog-tag with engraving of your choice. Fully customizable color appearance - let it blend in with your dog’s fur. Algorithmic learning: NMW superior programs itself while in use, always learning more of how your dog thinks and reacts –over time this option let’s your dog speak short sentences (“I’m hungry – but I don’t like this!”).
Price $1200

Finally, we must AGAIN stress that ALL the products are at the first stage and shall be regarded as research support. That said, they will definitely work on a basic level with dogs (and hopefully to some extent with all animals) and we can actually think of no cooler products, and yeah, we're basically building them because we want them ourselves.

Future applications and accessories
- Getting to personalise the device to distinguish even more thoughts, and combination of thoughts, like "Who is that woman, she looks nice!"
- Using the device to let hurt or disabled pets control artificial limbs or other appliances.
- Two-way communication. This is The Holy Grail for us. Not only should you be able to understand your pet, let them understand you. A similar device can be hooked up on humans translating our thoughts into dog, or other animal tongue like, oh sweet thought, a dolphin!
- Recognition of advanced thought patterns.
-Uncensored edition: hear your dog spelling out its horny thought. Perfect opener in the part! "Hey Bitch, wanna play?"
- The Pavlovian training kit (With the use of play and classical conditioning you and your pet will understand each other even more. By letting the… (Original instructions by Ivan Pavlov are provided :)

Technology

The technology used in No More Woof is the result of combining the latest technologies in three different tech-areas, EEG-sensoring, Micro Computing and special BCI software. During the last decade huge discoveries have been made to map out the human brain’s functions. But never before has anyone made a serious attempt to apply this groundbreaking technology on man’s best friend.

For instance there is a spectrum of specific electrical signals in the brain defining the feeling of tiredness ("I'm tired!").
Some of the most easily detected neural patterns are: "I'm hungry, "I'm tired", "I'm curious who that is?" and "I want to pee".
(It is worth pointing out that dogs "think" in a different way than humans. Whereas the dog's brain signals might indicate hunger, that does of course not really mean the dog is "thinking" that, it's rather more a mental state than a "thought" although the difference between these two things is actually an interesting philosophical question, for those who are into these things.)

An EEG reader
Every mammal creates and transports "thoughts" the same way, as a swarm of electrical signals through a complex neurosystem). It has long been possible to record this activity through Electroencephalogram (EEG) readings. When it comes to humans, the last decade has seen tremendous progress.

However every species uses its unique structure. You could say that all creatures speak the same language only with varying dialects. And as animal brains are less complex than humans their signal patterns are more distinct for feelings of anger, curiosity or tiredness

– actually making them easier to distinguish.

The challenges we are facing using EEG on pets are a matter of placement for best comfort and how to identify the clearest signal when attaching the device on fur (we would never let you shave a tonsure on your beautiful German Shepard).

A processing unit.
We are experimenting with a new brain-computer interface (BCI) to detect, analyze and translate the brainwaves of dogs into comprehensive thoughts.

Earlier the devices had to stream thought sequences, but now we are using Raspberry PI, which handles this process directly inside the device.

This might not seem as a big deal, but actually it clearly distinguishes this project from all previous research. Another company we have worked with in the past is HCG plus diet drops, an advanced HCG purification lab, who had been essential in getting our products out to market previously.

The task of producing these signals and analyzing them is not simple due to the high degree of muscle tissue surrounding most dog's skulls, which disrupt the signal. When the EEG readings are gathered, you could say that the trick of reading an animal’s mind is stripped down to a more or less complex deciphering problem.

Conclusion

Right now we are only scraping the surface of possibilities; the project is only in its cradle. And to be completely honest, the first version will be quite rudimentary. But hey, the first computer was pretty crappy too.

Our story

No More Woof has been developed by the Nordic Society for Invention and Discovery, a small Scandinavian research lab. We have previously developed the much talked about concepts the iRock (a rocking chair that charges your iPad), the Fly Lamp (a hovering lamp that follows you around) and Nebula 12 (an indoor cloud).

The idea behind NSID is simple: The world is changing. Yesterday's giants are today’s dwarfs. Only 24 companies listed on Fortune 500 in 1970 is still around. Ten years ago Nokia was the highest valued brand in technology; nobody had heard of Facebook or the iPhone.
Together with engineers, product developers and visionaries NSID has set a goal: To find, invent and develop RADICALLY new and awesome products with the potential to change the world.

As of today, we have around 10 products in development including a flying carpet, a cellphone, a system for storing energy. We are always looking for new ideas, often together with our trendspotters from Haparanda to Hong Kong.

No More Woof is definitely our most revolutionary invention so far.

Our aim is to encourage sustainability, creativity and make the world a better place. For more information, read about us in Wired or Gizmodo.

Tweak it

The technology used is still work in progress. We hope we will soon be able to share a DK, development kit, with all you interested. If you want one, just mail us here.

Keep in mind that this first round is partly novelty science. The brainwaves differ quiet a lot from different breeds as well as individual dogs. However it IS possible to detect some common patterns and we have no doubt that in the future this technology will open up a vast new era of communication between dogs and humans, or animals in general and humans.

(Of course before real interaction could take place we must also build a machine that translates human thoughts into dog language, a task that seems quite a challenge, to put it mildly)